[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 405 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 405

 Reaffirming the centrality of freedom of expression and press freedom 
   as cornerstones of United States foreign policy and United States 
     efforts to promote individual rights, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 2, 2010

   Mr. Kaufman (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Casey, Mr. Kyl, Mr. 
  Feingold, Mr. Webb, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Specter, Mr. McCain, and Mr. 
 Cornyn) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
                               agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Reaffirming the centrality of freedom of expression and press freedom 
   as cornerstones of United States foreign policy and United States 
     efforts to promote individual rights, and for other purposes.

Whereas Google announced on January 12, 2010, the mid-December 2009 discovery 
        that it had been victimized by a highly sophisticated and targeted cyber 
        attack on its corporate infrastructure originating from China that 
        resulted in the theft of its intellectual property;
Whereas Google also announced it had evidence to suggest that a primary goal of 
        the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights 
        activists, and that the evidence revealed separate attempts to penetrate 
        Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists, journalists, and 
        dissidents in the United States, Europe, and China;
Whereas the targeting of Google is believed to be part of a larger effort to 
        access the computer networks of at least 34 companies, including major 
        financial, defense, media, and technology firms and research 
        institutions in the United States;
Whereas this attack was one in a series of attempts to exploit security flaws 
        and illegally access computer networks of individuals and institutions 
        through the clandestine installation of phishing and malware technology;
Whereas the 2009 ``Report to Congress of the US-China Economic and Security 
        Review Commission'' stated that ``a significant and increasing body of 
        circumstantial and forensic evidence strongly indicates the involvement 
        of Chinese state and state-supported entities'' in malicious computer 
        activities against the United States;
Whereas approximately 338,000,000 Internet users in China represent the largest 
        population of Internet users worldwide, and the Government of China 
        employs a sophisticated, multi-layered, and wide-ranging apparatus to 
        curtail Internet freedom, as detailed in the 2009 ``Freedom on the Net'' 
        report by the Freedom House organization;
Whereas Article 35 of the constitution of the People's Republic of China 
        guarantees freedom of speech, assembly, association, and publication;
Whereas authorities in China employ legal and economic means to coerce Internet 
        service providers, web hosting firms, and mobile phone companies to 
        delete and censor online content and discussions created by Chinese 
        users;
Whereas the Government of China requires domestic Chinese and foreign companies 
        with subsidiaries in China, including Google, to adjust their business 
        practices to allow increased filtering and supervision by the Government 
        of China, restricting content allowed by technology-based products, and 
        censoring data available on search engines;
Whereas, in 2003, the Government of China implemented the Golden Shield Project 
        to control access and information on the Internet on grounds of public 
        safety, including through protocol address blocking, domain name system 
        filtering and redirection, uniform resource locator filtering, packet 
        filtering, connection resets, and other online methods that could amount 
        to censorship of high-value speech;
Whereas the Government of China frequently blocks United States international 
        broadcasting by Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA), 
        despite the unimpeded broadcast in the United States of state-run media 
        outlets in China, China Central Television, and China Radio 
        International;
Whereas, as of December 1, 2009, China had imprisoned 24 traditional and online 
        journalists, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all imprisoned 
        journalists worldwide at that time, according to the annual prison 
        census of the Committee to Protect Journalists;
Whereas, following riots in the Xinjiang region of China in July 2009, more than 
        50 Uighur-language Internet forums were closed and communications were 
        cut in Urumqi, China, and foreign journalists visiting the area were 
        closely monitored by the authorities;
Whereas, during the Summer 2008 Olympics in Beijing, limits were placed on 
        freedom of expression and media coverage, contrary to previous 
        commitments made by the Government of China to the International Olympic 
        Committee;
Whereas ill-defined charges such as ``subversion of the government'' and 
        ``disseminating rumors'' serve as the legal basis to sentence 
        journalists, bloggers, and others who express or disseminate views 
        critical of the Government of China; and
Whereas, on January 21, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged 
        enhanced United States support for Internet freedom, saying, ``We stand 
        for a single internet where all of humanity has equal access to 
        knowledge and ideas. . . countries that restrict free access to 
        information or violate the basic rights of internet users risk walling 
        themselves off from the progress of the next century.'': Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) reaffirms the centrality of freedom of expression and 
        press freedom as cornerstones of United States foreign policy 
        and United States efforts to promote individual rights;
            (2) expresses serious concern over ongoing official efforts 
        in many countries to restrict speech and expression, including 
        attempts to censor, restrict, and monitor access to the 
        Internet;
            (3) welcomes the diplomatic initiative announced by 
        Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on January 21, 2010, to 
        encourage Internet freedom globally by ``supporting the 
        development of new tools that enable citizens to exercise their 
        rights of free expression by circumventing politically 
        motivated censorship. . .with a focus on implementing these 
        programs as efficiently and effectively as possible'';
            (4) condemns the far-reaching cyber attacks allegedly 
        launched from China against Google, at least 34 other 
        companies, and numerous individuals discovered in December 
        2009;
            (5) calls on the Government of China to conduct a thorough 
        review of these cyber intrusions, and to make the investigation 
        and its results transparent;
            (6) pays tribute to the professional and citizen 
        journalists who persevere in their dedication to report in 
        China;
            (7) urges companies to engage in responsible business 
        practices in the face of efforts by foreign governments to 
        restrict the free flow of information by refusing to aid in the 
        curtailment of free expression; and
            (8) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to 
        develop means by which the United States Government can more 
        rapidly identify, publicize, and respond to threats against 
        freedom of press and freedom of expression around the world, 
        including through support of new and existing censorship 
        circumvention technology.
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